I had my doubts.  Sophia's a fairly shy kid and I just couldn't imagine her going along with the trick-or-treat game.  But she did it just like a pro... the door bell ringing, saying "Trick-or-treat!", wishing people a Happy Halloween, and not being scared by being out past dark with crazy costumed people milling about.  We got a few really nice pictures of her excitement.  Although it was a non-event for Ella, I really got a taste of how exciting something like this can be for a toddler.

The ladybugs are ready to go!  Ella was checking out that snazzy ghost candy-snatcher of Sophia's...

Full moon at dusk (and about 60 degrees)...

Ladybug with excitement in her eyes and spring in her step...


One of our neighbors turned a recently fallen tree into a work of Halloween art:


One little ladybug had a pretty boring time of it in the stroller.  She chewed on a toothbrush most of the time, which seemed to be a decidedly anti-candy statement.


Showing off the haul:


There was a "Trunk-or-Treat" in the big parking lot at the end of our street... a traffic-free zone where various organizations had set up booths (or used the bed of a pickup truck) for the kids to walk around and trick-or-treat at.  It was really nice... well-lit, no cars, plenty of kids' costumes to look at, and some simple games to make the kids earn treats.  They even had a few bounce houses and a performer.  Sophia made us walk around twice.  On the walk home, she must have said, "Mama, I want to eat my candy now" about 10 times (this is only about 4 houses down from us).  We did let her pick out one piece to eat before bedtime.  She chose a Crunch bar, which is so inferior to the other options that I'm going to have to teach her a thing or two.

One last word of warning to all of you who think it's safe out there among the sweet, innocent ladybugs.  There are monster ladybugs lurking among us... Esen found out the hard way tonight.  Keep your guard up out there or this could happen to you.